SGM. Clare:

Two more shots cracked through the air and chipped away at the tree. I cursed to myself and quickly peeped around the tree and fired off a quick shot then ducked behind the tree and racked the bolt on the Model 70.

Another shot went off then silence filled the air. “It would seem that I am out of ammo” called out the oh so familiar voice of The Apache. “Why would you tell me that? Now I can just walk right up and shoot you” I yelled back. I could hear her let out a casual laugh as she approached.

“Don’t you want to see which one of us is better?” she asked and I swung out from behind the tree and pointed the Model 70 at her. She was twenty five yards away. “Looks like you’ve bested me at a sniper duel. But can you best me at the other factors that decide a fight?” she asked and threw the battered rifle off to the side.

I walked around her, never letting my rifle aim wavier from her. I walked up beside the dead body of the zebra that I had killed earlier. “I’ll leave my things here, if you kill me than you can prove you did it” I said as I set my Model 70 on the body of the zebra then dropped the Thompson M1928 onto the ground.

I unholstered the twin Desert Eagles and the mighty S&W 500 magnum and dropped them to the ground as well. “There, now if you kill me you can prove you did it” I said and she let out a dastardly smile.

She unholstered a Model 29 .44 Magnum from a hip holster that was hidden underneath a light battle dress. The revolver had a fine polish to it along with several beautiful engravings. She tossed it to the side with the Mosin Nagant then slipped off her dress.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked as she tossed her dress to the side, revealing her bare chest. “I have nothing to hide from you, so I’ll show you” she said and I rolled my eyes. “Yeah well next time just tell me that you have nothing to hide and I’ll believe you” I replied casually.

She smirked, “You’d believe me just from my word?” she asked curiously and I nodded. “Well then, that was unexpected… I was expecting you to be very cautious and ignorant around a zebra, like all the other pony soldiers” she commented and I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, if I was so ignorant I would’ve just shot you” I told her and she giggled then slid off her pants so that she wasn’t wearing anything.

“HEY! I already said I trust you so you don’t have to go stripping all your clothes” I exclaimed but she simply laughed again as she tossed away her remaining garments. “It’s easier for me to fight without any clothes, that and I wanted to show you something special” she informed me.

I feared the worst and covered my eyes with my right hand just as she lept to her hindlegs, showing her body in full. “I’m good, I don’t need to see you naked” I muttered. “You idiot, I wasn’t trying to show you that” she scowled.

I spread my fingers apart and took a quick peep at her. There was a black skull painted on her chest, a skull that resembled a pony or zebra skull. She also had a pendant around her neck that looked like a tiny white pony skull, it was expertly crafted.

“Now you see, I have only this to show you” she said in a very calm voice. I let out a sigh as she dropped down to her hooves. I figured it was time I show my true colours as well. I took off my duster coat and let it clutter to the ground then slipped off my white undershirt revealing my bare chest.

“I see you’ve taken a mark of your own” she commented as I revealed my bare chest, showing off the white human skull I painted on my bare chest. “You seem to be very fit and muscular… for a human” she commented. “Is that a compliment?” I asked. She brushed her mane out of her face and closed her eyes. “I don’t think so” she replied softly. Jeeze, she was impossible to understand, one moment she’d be all angry and bloodthirsty then the next moment she’d be calm and compassionate.

I looked at her and examined her. Something just didn’t feel right about her. She seemed conflicted about something. “Other than the killing, is something wrong?” I asked and she shook her head. “Well… alright than. I’ll tell you something about me. I’m a failure. I have a marefriend that’s pregnant and I shouldn’t be at war. Yet I left without saying goodbye and I could die knowing that I should’ve said goodbye one last time” I informed her.

She looked at me with a gaze that I never thought I’d see from my enemy in combat. It was a gaze of understanding. “My son… my son was killed by a group of ponies. They thought he was a communist zebra. We were a neutral town that the communist forces would constantly harass and my son took it upon himself to be the defender of the town. One day a group of pony soldiers came to our town but when they saw him they thought he was a communist fighter so they shot him down. I hate both the communists and the ponies. That is why I am easily able to shoot down my own soldiers without hesitation” she told me.

I felt sympathy for her. “I can understand your sympathy and I won’t ask you to join me against the communist zebras because I know your reasoning. But why hunt me down specifically?” I asked. “The bounty” she replied and I gave her a curious look. “I know it’s a lot but…” I trailed off. “I need the money to support my village. We are in need of supplies that ponies will not give to us. And the communists simply rape and pillage through our town whenever they see fit. I decided to take up bounty hunting knowing that perhaps I could stop the madness” she told me. I was at a loss of words.

A lone tear trickled down her face followed by several others. “Thank you… thank you for listening. I’ve never told anyone this much about myself before… I feel… contempt… and loved… thank you” she said, a little choked up from the emotional state she was in. “My parents didn’t want me and dumped me on the curb in front of an orphanage in a bad neighbourhood. I grew up knowing nothing but violence and death. When I was old enough I joined the army at a young age and have known nothing but how to kill” I told her, my story wasn’t as sympathetic as hers but it was probably a saddening story none the less.

“You…you know pain like I do” she replied then took a moments silence before wiping the tears from her face. “There is nothing left for me to tell you… nothing left inside me. No hatred , not even regret. I’ve watched you… watched you become the soldier Equestria needed you to be. I’ve grown myself into the warrior that the zebras needed, that I needed myself to be. Now we fight, not just for ourselves but for the side we represent. One must live, one must die. The one who lives will live on with the knowing that their side is better and lead their side to victory” she told me in a very saddened tone.

“Wait, just wait” I said and she raised an eyebrow. “You hate the communists too, maybe we should join forces to stop all this madness?” I offered. She let out a small heartened laugh. “No, though the thought of working together with you is appealing I am not one to turn back on my mission” she replied. I cursed to myself, so much for diplomacy.

She stood to her hindlegs almost like it was a natural way of standing for her and got into some sort of judo stance. I tried to remember all I had learned about hand to hand combat as I edged closer towards her in a very clumsy stance.

As I got closer she took me by surprise as she shot forwards like lightning, jabbing me several times in the ribs and gut then flying her right foreleg past my head and slamming a nasty elbow into the back of my head. As I fell forwards from the brutal strike, she slammed a hard knee into my chest.

I fell to the ground gagging in pain but as she went to finish me by trying to break my neck, I rolled to the side and dodged her ruthless attack. I quickly staggered to my feet but she was already onto me like a bat out of hell. She slammed several punches into my face and chest as she slammed a cruel knee into my stomach that made me wheeze for air. She was killing me.

I tried to bring my arms up to block my face but as I did she quickly grabbed one of my arms and extended it to full length. She held my arm out with her left hoof and brought her right elbow down on my elbow joint in an attempt to break my arm. Lucky my body structure was strong enough to stop her from breaking my arm but the pain of her striking me like that dropped me to my knees in pain. It was like she knew all the best places to hit someone.

She held my arm up and began slamming knees into my face. I was taking a brutal beating and wasn’t actually quite sure how I was going to get out of this. I grunted painfully as I tried furiously to break free of her grasp. I tried to reach her with my left arm in an attempt to strike her but she was too far for my arm to reach or properly strike her.

As I took the beating of my life my memories quickly raced through my mind. “I love you Clare” Luna’s voice echoed in my mind. “Promise you’ll never leave” her voice echoed. Tears trickled down my face. Derpy’s frightened face came to my mind, how absolutely horrified she was. Moon Crater’s young face also came to my thoughts. All these ponies and how I was failing them in some way rushed to my memories.

“Just roll over and die already” The Apache scowled as she continued to slam brutal strikes into the side of my ribs. The face of Captain Daniels in his final moments rushed to my thoughts. “Goddamn you Clare…” he muttered then the saddened and crying face of Luna entered my mind.

My muscles tensed up and I let out a roar as I mustered all my strength then over powered The Apache. I pulled my arm back to my side and swung a heavy haymaker punch into the side of her head as I swung my body around. The simple brute force of the impact to the side of her head was enough to knock her to the ground and make her lose consciousness.

I stood to my feet and snarled. “Get up… get up” I said angrily as I kicked the side of her chest. She wasn’t moving but she was breathing. I stood there breathing heavily, I could tell my side would be bruised but I could care less. I brought my foot up to her shoulders and rolled her body over then looked at her with disgust.

“Come on… GET UP!” I yelled but she wouldn’t stand up. Though she had held me in a very exposed position and kept brutally hitting me without mercy I wasn’t going to hit her while she was exposed. I just wasn’t the kind of fighter to hit while they’re down even if it’s a dangerous enemy that needs to be killed.

Finally, after at least two or three minutes, The Apache came to. I held out my hand to help her up. She gave me a suspicious look. “Why didn’t you kill me while I was down?” she asked and I shrugged. “Guess it’s one of those kinks I have that I’ll never lose” I commented as she grabbed my hand and I helped her to her hooves. I quickly took a few steps back and was now beside the dead body of the zebra. She was beside her equipment.

“HAULT!” ordered a voice and we both looked over to see several zebras armed with AK47s. “Leave immediately, this is my bounty” The Apache hissed. “Ha-ha, stupid cunt. If it was your bounty than why isn’t he dead yet?” the commander of the zebras asked. The Apache curled her lips in anger.

“Because you’re no good at killing that’s why. Now do me a favour and get back to the kitchen where you belong. I’ll be home to stuff your cunt later” the zebra officer said insultingly. Okay now I hated The Apache for obvious reasons, though I felt sympathy for her as well, but that was just straight out cruel.

“You ignorant fuck” The Apache hissed. “Excuse me! Ignorant fuck? That is no way to talk to me, I am Major Tang, and you will honour my very presence” Tang ordered. I looked over to The Apache as I slowly edged myself towards my Desert Eagles. “So Apache, I was thinking?” I said as I made a moustache gesture with my right hand, she saw that I was just stalling time to get closer to my guns.

The zebras looked to me and I stopped edging towards my guns, she started edging closer towards her Model 29. “No I was thinking more along the lines of…” she trailed off and ran her right hoof along the side of her face. The zebras turned their attention to her and once again I began edging closer towards my guns.

“No-no. That would never work. How about…” I trailed off and made the gesture of a full beard. They turned their attention back to me and The Apache slowly edged towards her revolver.

“Well I was thinking perhaps…” she trailed off and brushed her hoof through her mane. The zebras all turned their attention back to her. “What is the meaning of this?!” Tang yelled. “Hmm… how about…” I blew her a kiss. “The kiss of death?” she asked and I gave her a wink. Tang’s face went red with fury. “WHAT THE FU” was all he managed as both The Apache and I quickly snatched up our handguns.

Both our handguns chugged out devastating rounds as they thundered in the recently calm jungle. She fired the famous .44 magnum shots while I fired the more infamous .50 caliber AE. The bullets shredded through the zebras. They screamed out in pain and agony as they fell to the ground. Most of the zebras died quickly but one certain zebra crawled along the ground, bleeding heavily.

Tang crawled along the ground towards one of the AK47s. Both The Apache and I walked over. I kicked Tang’s body over so that he was facing us. “You idiots… I’m untouchable… untouchable I tell you… when the general hears about this there’ll be hell to pay” he hissed. We both pointed our mighty handguns at his head.

“Goodnight Major Tang” The Apache scowled. Both she and I pulled the triggers of our guns simultaneously and Tang’s head exploded in a pressurized eruption from the sheer force of the massive caliber rounds that splattered brain matter and skull fragments all over us and our guns.

“He was an asshole” I muttered as I wiped blood from my face. “That he was, that he was” she laughed. I tossed my handgun to the side and she looked at me. “Are you a fool, perhaps I may just shoot you down” she said and I chuckled. “Is death funny to you?” she asked and I shook my head. “There were ten guys, I shot five rounds and all ten of them fell so that means you must’ve fired at least five as well. Then you fired your last shot into Tang’s head, so unless you’ve got a custom eight shot cylinder I’d say you’re a running on empty” I said and she looked at her revolver. She realized I was right.

“Besides, if I wasn’t sure I could’ve just shot you down… but that would’ve been dishonourable” I told her. “So you live for honour?” she asked and I nodded. “And love” I said as she tossed her revolver away.

“Let’s finish this” we both said at the same time. She let out a smirk and I smiled as we both charged towards each other.

Author's Notes:

Holy shit, I just looked at the word count and it said over 120,000 words and I was like "..." I feel strange for wrinting such a goddamn unbearably long story, but than again this story couldn't really be short. 53 Chapters and 120,000 words sounds like something along the lines of a short novel